The missions of this longstanding Training Grant are to provide training in musculoskeletal research to academically gifted individuals at the postdoctoral and predoctoral level and to develop these individuals towards productive careers in musculoskeletal research. The strong interdisciplinary nature of musculoskeletal research at CWRU provides an ideal framework for developing the trainees' research expertise as well as their appreciation for the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and their interest in musculoskeletal diseases. The faculty are highly collaborative and interactive and include 35 trainers from nine departments in the Schools of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and the College of Arts and Sciences. There is a healthy mixture of biological-, engineering-, and clinical- oriented trainers, further emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary approaches. Training is provided for two or three years to four predoctoral and three postdoctoral trainees per year. These outstanding individuals are identified by a careful, multi-step selection process. Training occurs through intensive participation in research projects as well as through a rigorous curriculum of courses, seminar, and conferences. The director and co-directors are advised by a Steering Committee and an Advisory Committee that formally review the overall program as well as the progress of each trainee on a regular basis. The success of the program is best appreciated by considering the career trajectories of our former trainees. Nineteen of them have obtained faculty positions at universities across the country and twelve have developed federally-funded research programs. An additional eleven current and recent trainees are in various stages of their continued training and plan research careers. Moreover, 85% of the trainees from the previous two funding periods are actively engaged in biomedical research/academics. Training future musculoskeletal researchers is crucial since musculoskeletal diseases are major causes of morbidity, mortality, and impaired quality of life for millions of people in the United States, which will continue to increase in frequency as our population ages. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Training future musculoskeletal researchers is crucial since musculoskeletal diseases are major causes of morbidity, mortality, and impaired quality of life for millions of people in the United States, which will continue to increase in frequency as our population ages.